Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday he's encouraged by what he is now hearing from the MSU Board of Trustees regarding the Larry Nassar scandal and he's not anxious to hold an inquiry aimed at removing them from office.(Photo11: Salwan Georges, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday he's encouraged by what he's now hearing from MSU trustees related to the Nassar sex abuse scandal, but they need to do more.

Snyder said he's not eager to start an inquiry aimed at removing trustees because it would be a drawn-out process and could conflict with other investigations.

"That's something that I hope we could avoid, plus, give the board an opportunity to work through things," Snyder told reporters after an announcement in Lansing.

Some have called on Snyder to use his powers under the state Constitution to hold hearings to remove the eight members of the MSU Board of Trustees because they say the board mishandled complaints of sexual abuse against Nassar, a former MSU doctor who sexually abused scores of girls and young women under the guise of treatment.

"I was pleased to see the MSU board be more proactive about working with the survivors, in terms of what they communicated the end of last week," when trustees apologized and pledged to do better at a Friday board meeting, Snyder said.

He wouldn't rule out taking action, but said launching a removal inquiry is "not an expedited situation" and would be "quite an extensive process."

Already, "there are a lot of investigations," Snyder said. "My count is eight. That is a concern, to some degree.

"You're asking survivors to show up to multiple events. I would hope people really are careful as we do these investigations, how do we do them in a way that respects the survivors the best way and at the same time focus on, let's get to the relevant answers and improve things."

Snyder wouldn't be specific about what he wants to hear from the MSU trustees that he hasn't already heard, but he said he wants a continuing dialogue with trustees, the university community and Nassar's survivors.

"There's more to be done here and we've got to work on this," he said. "This is an important issue, both on how we make sure this never happens again, how we support the survivors and (ensure that) all the investigations follow through properly."

He said he wants to "make sure this great institution can get back on its feet."